Tuck Everlasting Death Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"Tuck said—that's my husband, Angus Tuck—he said he had to be sure, once and for all. He took his shotgun and he pointed it at hisself the best way he could, and before we could stop him, he pulled the trigger." There was a long pause. Mae's fingers, laced together in her lap, twisted with the tension of remembering. At last she said, "The shot knocked him down. Went into his heart. It had to, the way he aimed. And right on through him. It scarcely even left a mark. Just like—you know—like you shot a bullet through water. And he was just the same as if he'd never done it." (7.21)

Would you consider this a suicide attempt? Do you think Tuck was secretly hoping that the bullet would kill him, or was it just a (really poorly planned) scientific experiment?

Quote #5

Winnie blinked, and all at once her mind was drowned with understanding of what he was saying. For she—yes, even she—would go out of the world willy-nilly someday. Just go out, like the flame of a candle, and no use protesting. It was a certainty. She would try very hard not to think of it, but sometimes, as now, it would be forced upon her. She raged against it, helpless and insulted, and blurted at last, "I don't want to die." (12.9)

This might be the first time Winnie has ever thought about death. And her reaction is totally natural. Don't forget, though, that Tuck has the exact same reaction to the exact opposite phenomenon: eternal life.

Quote #6

"I want to grow again," he said fiercely, "and change. And if that means I got to move on at the end of it, then I want that, too. Listen, Winnie, it's something you don't find out how you feel until afterwards." (12.11)

This definitely isn't a don't-knock-it-till-you-try-it kind of a situation. Once you find out how you feel, it's way too late.